Creativity is one of those ideas that brings about a different range of emotions for different people. For some, creativity feels elusive…just out of reach and difficult to experience. For others, creativity is something encouraged and expressed on a regular basis. I had a chance to read Austin Kleon‘s Steal Like and Artist recently and enjoyed his take on adding and experiencing more creativity in our lives.

What I enjoyed about Kleon’s book is the premise that all ideas are not original. Whenever we feel pressure to come up with something, we need to realize that very few ideas are ever truly original. According to Kleon, “what a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.”

Knowing this can be liberating for artists, thinkers and the average person looking to create “the next big thing” or a better something.

Here are three ideas from the book that I enjoyed…

Start Copying

Kleon argues that successful people and artists are not necessarily original. They had influences that shaped their work. This includes everyone from the Beatles to artists like Salvador Dali and athletes like Kobe Bryant and more. He invites readers to copy others’ and perform a sort of “reverse-engineering” which is like a “mechanic taking apart a car to see how it works.”

Important to note that copying does not mean plagiarizing. It means allowing yourself to be influenced by others’ creative work. I know I have been influenced and inspired by countless musicians, writers, artists, photographers and chefs (especially my mother). How does this influence my work? I’m not sure…but the sum of these influences is me. And my influences and body of work continue to evolve.

Step Away From the Screen

“We don’t know where we get our ideas from. What we do know is that we do not get them from our laptops.” – John Cleese

Kleon argues that, in order to become more creative, we need to step away from our computer. He believes that we need more movement in our lives…whether it be strumming a guitar, playing with clay or physically shifting papers. He believes in analog first, then digital. This movement allows us to gain a different perspective and make different connections in our mind.

Kleon also goes on to explain how he has two workstations…one analog for pens, markers, paper, sticky notes and one digital for his computer and other electronic gadgets. He keeps them separate and the analog workstation is where he generates most of his ideas and the digital workstation is where he edits these ideas.

Choose What to Leave Out

In the information-loaded world we live in, Kleon believes that it is more important than ever that we create some constraints and leave certain information out of our minds and our work. Too much information and too many influences may paralyze and overload us.

I like his quote…”In the end, creativity isn’t just the things we put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out.”

Steal Like an Artist is a quick, fun read broken down into bit-sized nuggets of wisdom. Filled with drawings, quotes and reverse type, it invites us to think of creativity a little differently. If you’re in need of a creative tune up or looking to try something a little different in any aspect of your life, pick up this book.

How about you…do you have any ideas that have helped you become a more interesting, effective person? Please share…I’d love to hear from you.

I’ve come to appreciate Jack White and the White Stripes only recently…upon a viewing of the “It Might Get Loud” DVD, which also featured Jimmy Page and U2’s the Edge. Sure I’ve heard plenty of White Stripes tunes over the years, and I liked many of them. But watching him interact with Page and the Edge and witnessing his approach to his instrument and craft piqued my curiosity.

I especially enjoyed White’s take on creativity in the film. As you hear in the clip above and in others, White is a strong believer in restriction and little (or no) usage of technology in contributing to one’s becoming more creative. This may differ from medium to medium. But what comes to mind immediately for me, at least, is the overabundance of computerized special effects in movies. In recent years, I’ve found myself unimpressed at times when watching certain action films simply because I know the CG effects made things seem too perfect and almost cartoonish.

Earlier this spring, White released his first solo album, Blunderbuss. Like the DVD, it was fun to learn in interviews that White’s approach to recording the album was different this time around. One trick included the capture of melodies that popped into his head in the middle of the night onto a recorder. In the past, White would go back to sleep and hope to remember these melodies when he awoke…most of the time, he failed to remember them. This time around, he took no chances and recorded those ideas immediately…something he says resulted in two new songs.

One other way White approaches things differently is exemplified in his latest tour…which includes two different backing bands, one all-male and the other all-female. In interviews White describes his desire to capture the different levels of energy when playing with these bands. While it does sound a bit “out-there,” I’d have to agree with him that men and women can sometimes create a different energy whether it be in a room or on a stage. I’m not sure how this translates in a performance situation, but I’ll trust White’s judgement about creating a new and different vibe.

Whether or not you’re a musician or an artist, White’s unique approach to his craft is worth considering. What if you were to approach that project at work just a little differently this time around? Could your own unique approach to your job help you achieve different (and possibly better) results? Maybe the risk is worth taking.

He’s been described as enigmatic, a feminist and/or a luddite…whoever he is, I admire him for approach to his art. And while there may be plenty of guitar players that might be more technically skilled than he is…I have a feeling Jack White wouldn’t want it any other way.

How about you…how have you approached your work or your art a little differently? What were your results? I’d love to hear about them.

Back in June, I wrote about an amazing partnership between YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum called YouTube: Play (read original post). It allowed artists to submit videos via YouTube with the possibility of exhibition at the Guggenheim in New York. More than 23,000 submissions later, the videos were narrowed down to the final 25. Last week I had the pleasure of watching part of the live streaming multimedia event that took place at the Guggenheim in New York.

Thanks to the help of technology, the live streaming event looked beautiful on my large computer monitor. I don’t want to say it was better than being in the museum (this is nearly impossible considering the Guggenheim’s amazing architecture), but I was very comfortable. And inspired. I found the event incredibly entertaining and inspiring as I watched musical performances and interviews with the filmmakers. This event, in my mind, ties in really nicely with my recent reading of Steven Pressfield’s War of Art because the filmmakers truly went pro as they completed their films. Weather you’re a writer, dancer, musician or painter, you’ll feel a huge sense of joy, motivation and appreciation as you watch these short films.

You can view all 25 of the final videos on YouTube. Here’s one film from the final 25 called “Words” and I find it highly entertaining…

I also invite you to watch the Guggenheim event, which is available for viewing on YouTube. Grab your favorite beverage and view the event highlights here or the entire program here.

I recently finished Steven Pressfield’s “War of Art.” As many of you already know, this book has been highly regarded and recommended to read by creative individuals across the land. But I never got around to reading it – until recently. I found that this book lived up to all the positive buzz that I’d been hearing and reading about. Whether you’re an artist, writer, dancer, entrepreneur or whatever, I would highly recommend you read it.

I especially enjoyed Pressfield’s section about turning pro – which means that whatever artistic endeavor we pursue, we turn pro when we really commit ourselves to that endeavor. It means that we take our endeavor seriously and that we’re not just dabbling or exploring.

It also got me thinking about how we, many times in life, create our own luck. Chances are, if we love doing something, we keep doing it. We practice. We get better.

Early in my college days I had an assignment in a creative writing class. I had to write a short story that was 8 to 10 pages in length. The weekend before it was due, I had the worst case of writer’s block in my life. I took walks, talked to friends, prayed, meditated, had a few beers. Still, I had no idea what to write about. I was driving myself crazy.

Looking back I realize I never really put the work or commitment needed to get through that evil case of writer’s block. I realize today, thanks to Julia Cameron and her Morning Pages, that I’m capable of writing at times when my mind isn’t ready or filled with ideas. I understand that all my practice – whether it be a journal entry, an email, a rough draft – prepares me when it’s time for me to write something important. In other words, I’m putting my time in. I’m practicing and committed to improvement.

Ultimately, this “turning pro” helps us to create our own luck. It’s not a coincidence, after all of our commitment and time spent perfecting our craft, that we’re more likely to experience success than if we were to just continue dabbling and exploring.

So how about you…in what ways, what areas of your life are you committing yourself to your craft?

When we think of strategic partnerships, we think of more than one brand or group partnering with each other for their mutual success. This video is the latest example of a creative strategic partnership – between YouTube and The Guggenheim Museum in New York. For the Guggenheim, YouTube can make their museum and name a bit more accessible to everyone. For YouTube, partnering with the Guggenheim adds prestige to its brand and its selection of videos. For us, we have the opportunity to bring creative video ideas to life and the opportunity to watch these videos without booking a trip to New York City.

Personally speaking, my visit to the Guggenheim in New York two years ago was one of the highlights of my trip. I love that this promo video reminds me of my experience there and gets my creative juices flowing. As far as I can tell, this contest is a win-win-win situation. For more information about this, please visit the Guggenheim website.

Here in the United States, Avatar was released on DVD this past week. It was one of those movies that, for me, lived up to its hype. I enjoyed both the story and the special effects. I might not be the only one that felt the virtual world in the movie seemed familiar to me. That’s because I’ve been mesmerized by the world of Roger Dean since I was a kid. If you’ve ever been to a record store and checked out albums by the progressive rock band Yes, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The combination of Roger Dean’s art and Yes’ music is amazing.

I don’t know if James Cameron officially modeled the virtual world in Avatar after the work of Roger Dean, but one look and you can see the striking similarities. In the introduction to Roger Dean’s book, Views, Donald Lehmkuhl says this about Roger Dean and his art:

” He shows us insects with nuclear power, fish swimming in air, waterfalls without a source. He fuses Stonehenge with spacecraft and gives elephants wings. He goes out of this world. Out of perceived reality. He pursues the incomparable. Where he goes, is also a reality. His work is about this reality: about the true nature of things, of forms, of appearances, of feelings, spiritual feelings which (like music) are themselves both perceptions and stirred memories of places, events, creations long ago, or- more likely – long ahead.”